15 Mar Remembering Glenn Hopkins

Glenn Hopkins

1954 – 2017

We are saddened by the loss of a staunch recovery advocate that always tried to ensure those individuals who needed a voice, had a voice. Glenn’s work on behalf of individuals in recovery will forever be remembered. We think the best way to tell Glenn’s story is to see it in words those he wrote, describing his story as only he could:

“consumer to recover.”

And a framework he did indeed help develop. The Main Place operates in Licking and Knox counties of Ohio, serving 800-900 adult mental health consumers a year. Glenn’s entrepreneurial and visionary talents built The Main Place into a dynamic consumer-operated service that provided a drop-in center, peer support services, clinical services, and a housing program. This talent led to The Main Place being a pioneer under his direction for such things as CARF Accreditation, a Medicaid contract, implementing an electronic healthcare record, promoting and teaching how metabolic health helps those who experience mental illness live longer, healthier lives, just to name a few. A crowning achievement for the agency under his direction and incredible persistence was the agency owned and operated “The Place Next Door,” which is a 10-unit, permanent supportive debt-free housing project.

Glenn also was a very active and vocal advocate for mental health consumers locally, was known throughout the State of Ohio, and also received recognition nationally as Executive Director of The Main Place.

In January 2016, Glenn was diagnosed with a very aggressive brain tumor that eventually took his life on March 14, 2017. But his mind never stopped. Ideas kept flowing, and many of them have been acted upon, are in process, or are still on the burner waiting for time and resources to complete projects that will benefit the consumers that The Main Place serves for many years to come.

However, the capstone of Glenn’s life was love for his family, which not only included his blood relatives, but also included each and every person that experienced mental illness whom he came into contact with, as well as his co-workers and professional colleagues. There may be an equal, but it is certain that no one loved mental health consumers more than Glenn Hopkins.